Tattoos have become part of American mainstream culture over the past couple of decades. Some estimate that more than 10 million Americans have at least one tattoo, and there are about 4,000 tattoo studios now in business in the United States. One busy physician who specializes in tattoo removal -- he's removed tattoos from some of the most famous tattoo artists -- estimates that about 50 percent of those who get tattoos later regret them. For years, these people had little recourse, and existing removal techniques were invasive (requiring surgery) and painful. But that's changing.

Decorative tattoos have a history dating back at least 5000 years. The desire to remove them has probably existed just as long. Early attempts to remove tattoos included sanding, cutting, and burning of the skin, which left scarring. These removal techniques were replaced by dermabrasions, salabrasions, and C02 lasers, which still left scarring and could not differentiate tattoo colors.

Since the early 90's the advent of Q-switched Ruby lasers permitted the removal of darker tattoo inks with very low risk of scarring. The latest generation of Q-switched lasers developed in the late 90's is the newest system capable of removing multiple tattoo inks.

The laser uses an intense beam of light to remove and lighten the tattoo, without harming the surrounding healthy skin cells. The light energy is delivered in pulses. When the ink particles of the tattoo absorb the light from the laser, they are broken up into tiny fragments. These fragments are then absorbed through the body's natural cleansing mechanism. The number of treatments varies from 3 to 7 once a month depending on the following factors.
* Mix of ink
* Depth of tattoo
* Age of tattoo
* Placement of ink under the skin
* Professionalism
* Healing Ability of each client
* Post Treatment Hygiene- This is the most crucial fact for proper healing

The images to the left are actual images of before a tattoo removal and after the tattoo was removed.

Click here to view tattoo video. Enjoy.